A Thousand Years
by AlinaLotus
Summary: "All I can say is if somebody doesn't start getting friendly with her, it's going to stay very...cold...for the rest of us. As in showers." They all grimaced, some even looked mutinous. As Kakashi often lamented, the life of a ninja is never fair.


**Loosely based on the M*A*S*H episode Edwina. AU, language, and sexual content- a bit of BDSM. God, it's been ages since I've written. Probably this is a bit rusty. Enjoy anyway.**

_Every breath, every hour_

_has led to this..._

"Don't," Kakashi begged, "I'll do it. I'll do anything. Just...don't." He struggled against the restraint that chained him to the post. He was sweaty, exhausted, his Sharingan pounding from overuse.

She stood above him, her smirk calculating, her weapon of choice pointed at him. "Don't what?" She demanded in a cool voice.

"Don't..._please_..."

She bent over him, and he inhaled the scent that had driven him mad since he'd been brought here, the sweet, candy-like smell of her hair.

"You've had enough?"

Kakashi vigorously shook his head. "Never."

She tipped her head back and laughed. "Then I'll continue this," She pressed the tip of a kunai to his sternum, "to get what I want." She slipped around to the other side of him, gracefully positioning herself so that she was straddling his torso.

"Sakura, please-" Kakashi pleaded, but she lashed against him even as he spoke, and he felt an electric thrill through his body as he tasted blood.

"What did I say about that name?" She leaned back, barely brushing his arousal. "If you aren't going to take this seriously maybe," she spread her legs before him, her creamy, smooth thighs leading the way to delicate, soft pink curls that made his mouth water just looking at them, "I should just-"

A rapt knocking outside the door made them both jump. "Sakura! Time to go! Tsunade's just sent for us. Move it, Forehead!"

Sakura's head dropped. "Are you fucking kidding me? This is supposed to be my night off!" She hissed, swinging her legs around and getting off the bed. "What are you blabbering about, Ino? I'm off duty!"

Ino snorted and Sakura could practically hear the roll of her eyes. "Ditto girl, but like that matters to her! Let's just go and then maybe we can get back soon. You're going to have a date with Kakashi tonight, right?"

"Having," Sakura corrected while she searched the floor for her clothes.

"Hello, Ino," Kakashi called, and Ino made a gagging noise in response.

"Shut up Pig, like you don't have Kankuro stuffed somewhere just waiting for you to get back."

"Whatever. Just hurry up." Ino said hurriedly, and Sakura gave a satisfied smile, mouthing a "told you" to Kakashi. He grinned; that Kankuro and Ino were an item was no more a secret anymore than Temari and Shikamaru.

"Uh, Sakura..." Kakashi said, yanking on the scarf that was tied around his wrist. She'd reinforced it with chakra so he couldn't break loose, and even now when her attention was on putting herself together to appear before the Hokage, the strength of the bind hadn't lessened any.

"Oh, right." Sakura said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and coming over to untie him. "Although it would be MUCH more fun to leave you there until I got back..." Her eyes lingered on Kakashi's bare chest and stomach.

"Sakura!" Ino shrieked, and Sakura yanked the scarf off, bringing her lips to kiss the irritated skin where the material had rubbed.

"You going to hang out or head home?" Sakura asked as Kakashi sat up, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Well if Kankuro is hiding here too, maybe we'll catch the game and order a pizza."

Sakura shrugged. "Call Shika, will you? He and Kankuro need to hang out more. I mean, I know it's uncomfortable because of the whole Shikamaru-doing-his-sister thing, but Kankuro needs to get over that."

Kakashi made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat.

"Right." Sakura said, tying her headband in place. "Well, I'm off. Be a good boy and play nice with the other kids."

Kakashi grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him. "What, no goodbye kiss?" He murmured, catching her chin between his thumb and index finger.

Sakura held her breath in anticipation as their lips met, Kakashi settling her into his lap. Her fingers were lost in his hair, his hands on either of her hips, the kiss deepening with every movement of his lips against hers. Completely caught up in the moment, as was very easy to do with Kakashi, Sakura was just lifting the bottom of his shirt up, ready to pull if off him once more, when Ino kicked the door open, ready to drag Sakura in with a mind control jutsu if she had to.

"Fuck off, Ino." Sakura said, pulling up Kakashi's mask, which had hung loosely around his neck for the last half hour. Sakura was proud to say she was one of the few- very few- people to have seen Kakashi's face in its entirety, and it was going to stay that way if she had anything to say about it.

"Go. And behave." Kakashi said with a small wink at Sakura, pulling down his headband to cover his Sharingan.

"No promises...sensei." She gave him a sideways smirk before following Ino out of her bedroom.

**oooo**

"Whoa, you're here too?" Ino asked as she and Sakura approached Tsunade's office. Temari was there, leaning against the wall, looking bored and though, like them, this was the last place she wanted to be right now.

Temari and Ino had never exactly been best friends, what with the whole you're-screwing-my-brother thing (Ino considered Shikamaru her brother in every way that really mattered, and as such was as protective of him as Temari was of Kankuro), but they managed to get along.

"Yeah...I was summoned here for an urgent meeting with the Hokage. You too?"

Sakura and Ino nodded.

"Wonder what's up?"

"H-Hello..." Sakura turned, Hinata peeking around TenTen to greet them.

"You guys too, eh? I hope everything is alright... you didn't see anything odd on your way over, did you?" Sakura, Ino, and Temari shook their heads in unison.

"Pretty lame, right? I mean, I was in the middle of something, you know?" TenTen positioned herself against the wall beside Temari.

"Someone, you mean." Ino said with a roguish wink.

TenTen's face flushed. "I-"

"Hey, no explanation necessary babe. Neji is f-i-n-e. I mean, he's no puppet master," Ino inclined her head toward Temari, "but he's not bad."

"N-Naruto-kun always says that Kankuro is a formidable opponent." Hinata said in a hushed voice.

"Naruto can't even spell formidable." Sakura said with a roll of her eyes, but she smiled at Hinata. She was glad that her blockhead of a teammate had finally opened his eyes and realized the fierce love that Hinata had for him, a love that he seemed, lately, to return.

Next to Tsunade's office, where Shizune's was, the door swung open and Genma stepped out, smoothing down the front of his vest. "Oh...hey." He said, lifting his hand in salute to the girls. Shizune came out behind him, running her fingers through the ends of her hair, and trying to straighten her robe. "Gotta get going, mission starts any minute. Thanks for the...discussion, Shizune." He said, his eyes lingering on Shizune's face. He turned and left, and Shizune looked at them all, as though daring them to say anything.

"Good, you're all here. She's ready for you." Shizune held the door to Tsunade's office open for them as they filed past her, Ino and Sakura sharing a secret nudge as Genma disappeared down the hall and out of sight.

**oooo**

Kakashi and Kankuro made their way down the street towards Ichiraku. There hadn't been a game on, and ramen sounded better than pizza, so they figured they'd hang out at the shop while waiting for Sakura and Ino to return.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! Over here!" Kakashi looked up as Naruto waved at him. He was already seated at the bar of Ichiraku, a stack of empty bowls towering over him. Beside him sat a stone-faced Neji, and a bored Shikamaru.

"You guys just...hanging out?" Kakashi asked as he and Kankuro took a seat.

Naruto shrugged. "I saw Shikamaru wandering around like a lost puppy so I brought him here," Naruto jabbed Shikamaru in the ribs, "and Neji passed not too long after that. He was dropping TenTen off after their date." Naruto made a kissing sound toward Neji, and Kakashi, knowing his duty in Sakura's absence, sighed as he smacked Naruto upside the head.

"I was not wandering like a lost puppy," Shikamaru said, his arms folded over his chest, "besides, you're one to talk. You were awfully cozy with Hinata when I saw you two earlier today."

Neji's eyes snapped to Naruto's face, which had become pink with embarrassment. "Uh...heh...more ramen, anyone?"

**oooo**

"Shizune, the sake." Tsunade said, turning in her chair to face the group that stood before her desk.

"Shishou, is something wrong? I mean, did something happen?" Sakura asked, taking in the tired state of her master.

"Yes and yes, Sakura. If we don't do something, and fast, this village is in a lot of trouble. I can't have mistakes being made right now! I won't be embarrassed like this!"

Ino and Sakura exchanged wide-eyed looks. "What can we do, Hokage-sama?" Ino asked.

"It's more like...what you can't do." Shizune broke in, setting a bottle of sake on Tsunade's desk.

"Can't do...with what?" TenTen asked, bewildered.

Tsunade shook her head. "With who."

"I don't follow you." Ino said, an eyebrow raised. "Is this something to do with a mission?"

Tsunade nodded. "A very important one. One that you're all now assigned to. It takes place here, and now."

"Sorry Shishou, I still don't..." Sakura trailed off.

Tsunade produced a file. "You all know Shiho?"

"Sure, she's a chunin. Works in Cryptanalysis, right?" TenTen said with a shrug.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. She is the best we've got- she can crack codes that even Shikamaru can't decipher. She's got a real future ahead of her."

"And she's going on a mission with us?" Ino put in.

"No, she IS the mission. You see, Shiho has put in for a transfer to Suna. Fine by me, as she'll get training from the Sand that we can't offer her here. But she's put in for a permanent transfer. She never wants to come back. When Shizune asked her why, it was clear that she feels she has no future here. She says she's going to die barren and if she's going to be an empty vessel, the desert is the best place for her to waste away."

"So...she wants to have a kid? Correct me if I'm wrong," Ino said with a laugh gesturing at everybody around her, "but you've got the wrong group of people here for that sort of mission. Our lack of penis and adjoining testicles will make that pretty difficult, don't you think?

Tsunade narrowed her gaze. "Look, Shiho thinks she can't get a man. That nobody pays attention to her. If she gets that, though, before she leaves...if she sees that she can be a woman men look at, maybe she'll change her mind. Maybe she'll have some confidence in herself and she'll get it together because I need somebody like her on my side. The smallest bit of confidence can go a long way."

"What exactly are you asking us to do?" Temari, speaking for the first time, asked.

"As I said," Tsunade leaned back in her chair, tipping another shot of sake into her mouth, "it's what I'm asking you not to do."

**oooo**

_four days later_

"Alright everybody just shut up!" Naruto yelled. "Pervy Sage made us all meet here, so let's just listen to what he has to say so we can go home."

"Right, thanks kid." Jiraiya, who'd been sitting on the bench in front of Naruto, stood up. The park was empty this time of day, as most everybody was home this late, pursuing the interests of the night...well, except everybody here. The last few days had not been good to any of them, and Jiraiya had never seen so many tense, frustrated men in one place. "I've received some intel, and it's not good. Not good at all."

"Well?" Kakashi, snapped, "what is it?" He tapped his fingers impatiently on his thigh.

"Can you just say what you need to say? I've got places to be, you know." Shikamaru, hands shoved deep into his pockets, said in a half-hopeful voice.

"None of us have any place to be and we all know it. The girls have all decided they don't...well, it's been a lonely couple of days and I finally know why." Jiraiya said, and there was a blur of orange as Naruto pounced on him.

"If you know ,why don't you tell us? Just tell us already so we can fix it! I'm going to lose my mind and if Hinata keeps...pushing me away. I'm not cut out for this kind of endurance!"

"Okay everybody just calm down and let the man speak. Yeesh." Kankuro held his hands up, trying to gain some order. Sure, they all had a few stuck in the chamber, but screaming about it and attacking each other wouldn't help.

"One of our Cipher Corps girls is desperately lonely, and-"

"Yeah well, tell her to join the club." Naruto grumbled. Jiraiya ignored him.

"- Tsunade seems to think this is a matter of village concern. It appears as though the girls have all banded together and have decided that if Shiho isn't getting any, neither are we."

"That doesn't even make sense." Neji said, his voice colder than Jiraiya had ever heard it. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"All I can say is if somebody doesn't start getting friendly with her, it's going to stay very...cold...for the rest of us. As in showers." They all grimaced, some even looked mutinous. As Kakashi often lamented, the life of a ninja is never fair.

"They can't...they can't do that! You have to do something, Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya laughed. "And what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Naruto threw his hands up in the air. "Hey, you're a Sanin! They have to listen to you! Make them stop this, right now!"

"I've been hit by this too you know! How about showing a little fortitude?" Jiraiya stood on the bench, raising his arms in a rallying sort of way. "We're all men here! We're shinobi! A little abstinence isn't going to kill any of us! What do you think, Kakashi?"

Kakashi put his hand to his chin. "I think...you've got pretty legs. Fishnets become you."

Jiraiya glared at Kakashi, hopping down from the bench. Not that he'd expected him to be particularly helpful, but Kakashi was the next in rank and Jiraiya had hoped he could help him encourage the rest of the men to not lose their minds. "Let's not get carried away. Everybody just put junior on the back burner so we can figure out what to do, alright?"

**oooo**

_two days later_

"Look, it's only a date! You don't have to do anything but pay for her meal. In fact, if you do anything more," Sakura raised a fist to the group of men around her, and to Kakashi in particular.

"None of us want to go out with her Sakura! That's why we haven't!" Naruto whined. "But hey, you've talked to Hinata today, right? Did she get the gift certificates to Ichiraku? Huh, did she?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. She'd been sent here because everybody felt she was the one who could instill the most fear in the boys. If anybody could keep them in line, it was her. The second she'd walked through the door, however, Kakashi had followed her every move with hungry eyes, and it had taken all of her restraint to ignore the dirty, desperate thoughts that kept winding their way through her body. This whole arrangement blew and the sooner Shiho got her mojo back, the sooner they all got their boyfriends back.

"Everybody got everything you've lavished on them. The sake and poker chips," Sakura met Jiraiya's eye, "the bouquet of desert roses," then Shikamaru's, "the new whet stone," Neji's glare cut through her, but she continued, "the Prada heels," Kankuro ripped out his wallet, reaching for a receipt, as if showing Sakura how much they cost would somehow gain him back Ino's favor.

"And the necklace?" Kakashi asked, shoving Naruto out-of-the-way, a jolt going through Sakura as their eyes met. "The jade necklace?"

Sakura swallowed as Kakashi stepped toward her. "Yeah...and the necklace." She raised her hand to touch the delicate jade charm, intricately carved into the shape of a leaf.

"I thought," he said, now directly in front of her, "that it matched your eyes. It's not nearly as beautiful, of course." Kakashi reached up to cover Sakura's hand with his own, but Naruto quickly stepped between them, shoving Kakashi away.

"No way! Not fair, you don't get to touch her! If none of us get to touch our girls, neither do you!"

"Anyway," Sakura said, thankful that Naruto had moved Kakashi farther away from her- she wasn't sure she had it in her to walk away from him . "Decide which of you it is, and ask her out. Treat her nicely, act interested in her, and just...help her get some confidence. That's your mission."

"Why the hell can't you get somebody else? Somebody single? Like Kiba or Shino? Or Genma?" Naruto whined.

"Genma isn't single, he's with Shizune. And he was sent out on a mission- " Sakura narrowed her eyes, "right before Tsunade called us into her office... well-played Shizune, well-played..."

"Well? Anybody else?" Shikamaru asked.

"Look, Kiba and Shino are on a mission with Gai and Lee right now. And anyway there's a reason they're single. You guys have girlfriends because you have something about you that women- or a woman, anyway (it still surprised her that somebody like Naruto or Shikamaru had anything desirable about them, but to each girl her own)- finds attractive. You obviously have what it takes to get a girl, so put that to use and make Shiho feel special." She turned to leave, her eye catching Kakashi's, "and just remember that this is a hands-off date." She looked away, exiting the room and slamming the door behind her to vent a bit of her own frustrations.

Metal, hinges, and sparks flew everywhere in the wake of Sakura's strength, and while those around him ducked out-of-the-way of flying debris, Kakashi's eye wistfully followed Sakura until she was out of his sight for good.

**oooo**

"What'd they say? They're going to do it, right?" Ino asked as soon as Sakura entered their apartment. Temari, TenTen, and Hinata had all decided to camp out in once place- safety in numbers. If they were together, they were less likely to be tempted away from their mission.

"They better." Sakura growled, going straight to the fridge and opening it, rummaging around for something to drink.

"Do they...I mean, did they say..." Hinata asked in a small voice, and Sakura sighed, nodding.

"It's safe to say they miss us. They're totally freaking out."

"Well that's good at least." Temari said in a satisfied way.

"So, pizza anybody?" TenTen asked. "Let's at least not starve. No need to add to our suffering."

"Okay, I gotta ask." Ino said, plopping down on the sofa, "it's been bugging me ever since we all met up in Tsunade-sama's office...what the hell do you see in those guys?"

Sakura nodded vigorously. "Me too! I mean, really? Shikamaru? Naruto? Even Neji...c'mon!"

"Well, what do you see in Kankuro?" Temari countered. "He's loud and annoying and inconsiderate and a slob."

"As opposed to Shikamaru? Get real!"

"Okay then," TenTen said, replacing the phone after calling for food, "let's go around and say what made them catch our eye. And why we stay- I mean, let's face it, they're all pretty big pains."

"Deal." Ino said. "You first." She gestured toward TenTen.

"Well... I guess it was about two years ago. I mean, Neji's always been gorgeous. He's a Hyuuga, after all. But he seemed...I don't know, he just changed. He smiled more and he didn't push himself so hard. He spent more time talking to me and training with me than he did competing with Lee."

Hinata smiled. "I noticed a change in him as well. It was after you fought those Akatsuki...Kisame, I think."

TenTen thought for a moment then nodded. "Yep, sounds about right. Of course it took me that whole time to get him to open up and actually ask me out, but hey, it was worth it. Neji is strong, but not just as a ninja. He's exactly what I need."

"Okay you're boring me." Ino said with a smile, "onto the next. Temari?"

Temari shrugged. "Nara's always been cute... I guess I sort of had a thing for him ever since I fought him at the chunin exams. And then I saved his ass and I realized, hell, I wouldn't mind doing this again. And then he saved MY ass, and I liked that even more... when the Hokage put him in charge of the exams and we started working together, I decided I'd waited long enough. So I kissed him, then I had to leave the next day. After everything with Gaara happened...when we all went back home... Nara was waiting in my apartment. He'd heard about everything obviously, and he said he was worried about me."

"He actually went to Suna to check on you?" Ino asked incredulously.

Temari nodded. "The rest is history. He's the only guy I can stand, really, and even then for only certain lengths of time."

"How romantic." Sakura said with a wink at Ino, though she couldn't blame Temari. Shikamaru could be as ridiculous as Naruto some days.

"Okay me next. So one day I was out at the river-"

"It's a boring story. Pretty much, Ino was taking a dip in the river after a mission and Kankuro was peeping at her. That was three months ago, and they've been fucking ever since." Sakura broke in with a wave of her hand.

"Actually it's more than that. Kankuro is totally whipped." Temari said rolling her eyes. "It's kind of pathetic, actually."

"So what about you, Hinata? I mean, I know Naruto is like, uber powerful now, and he's a Sage and everything, but...he's not very bright when it comes to girls, right?" Ino said, turning away from Temari with a faint blush in her cheeks.

"W-well, Naruto-kun...he was the first boy to ever support me. His smile made me strong... he protected me. He still does."

"I think it's cute, Hinata." TenTen said, patting Hinata's shoulder. "You guys look really sweet together."

"And now, YOU, forehead. We're all dying to know how you managed to hook Kakashi-sensei. The Copy Ninja...the man is a legend! A little old maybe, but still, amazing."

"And great in bed." Sakura added with a smirk. The girls made gagging sounds, but they were grinning too. "Actually, he's so thick it took me a long time to get through to him. I think I started to look at him differently after Naruto came back...when we were Team Kakashi again. He just...before that he was just my teacher, just another ninja. But then it was like...I don't know, just like BAM here's this guy who is strong and funny and cares about people... anyway, like Temari, I was sick of waiting. So after we got back from a mission and he was, as always, in the hospital for chakra exhaustion, I sort of...gave him a physical."

"You did not!" Ino raised a hand to her mouth. "You're supposed to leave that to the nurses!"

"It was on his orders! It wasn't like I did it just for the hell of it, even though I would have, if I needed to. I just...needed to know how he felt about me." Sakura shrugged.

"And asking him to turn his head and cough was the way to do that?" Temari asked through laughs.

"Well, if he...you know, got excited, when I was...examining him, then it was legit, right? All the flirting we'd been doing wasn't just harmless, and he wasn't just waiting to friend-zone me."

"So...he did, then?" TenTen asked in a hushed voice.

"I was bent down, you know, checking for hernias...but nothing. It wasn't until I was checking his Sharingan that it happened. It was really fast...I didn't even have time to react."

"C'mon Sakura, from the sound of your headboard hitting my wall for hours, Kakashi isn't 'fast'."

"Well he had me up against the wall and was pulling my underwear off before I knew it, so yeah, that part was fast..." Sakura said, unable to stop the grin on her face at the memory of that day, of their first time. Kakashi had taken her roughly, because he'd known that's exactly what she'd needed and what she'd wanted. He was gentle when it counted, but that day, she'd wanted his heat, to share his passion. They'd had a lot to overcome, not just with their pasts and their insecurities. The village, at first, didn't know how to react to their relationship- surely it wasn't the first of its kind, and often, teacher and previous student became involved intimately, but as they were still current teammates, how could it be deemed any sort of proper?

Luckily, Tsunade had gone to bat for them, and ninja's personal lives were no concern of anybody's in the first place. Still, they got the one or two cold looks when they went out together, but it only made them laugh now, because nothing could hamper their happiness.

"So you stay with him because..." TenTen prompted.

"I think it's because...I don't want to be with anybody else. It sounds dumb, but...I love him more than I've ever loved anybody in my entire life. He makes me feel like I'm the only woman in the world."

"That's what it is, isn't it?" Ino said, as though something had just clicked in her mind. "They make us feel like we're the only important thing in their lives."

"And now...one of them is going to be making Shiho feel that way..." Sakura said, standing up so fast she knocked the lamp behind her over.

"Oh hell no, over my dead body! That chick already has a thing for Shikamaru, this is not happening!"

"Great! I spend years cultivating a meaningful, deep relationship with Neji and then this girl just comes along and gets a date with him? I don't think so!"

"Naruto-kun can't look at her like he looks at me! What will happen when he smiles at her?"

"I swear to the Hokages if Kankuro even talks to her, I'll rip his balls off!"

"All of you, SHUT UP!" Sakura said, swinging open the front door. "Just shut up and let's go!"

**oooo**

"When did you find out that Ibiki-san had already asked Shiho out?" Shizune asked, refilling Tsunade's sake cup.

"Oh...this morning, I believe. I saw them drinking tea together. Shiho was smiling like an idiot. Ibiki is going to go with her to Suna, you know. As an escort. I've also assigned him some duties there- Gaara let me have Temari for a while, and Ibiki is going to do some interrogation training on their Intelligence teams. So he and Shiho should have plenty of bonding time. I think when the transfer expires, Shiho will be perfectly happy to come back to the village."

"And you haven't called off the other mission because...?"

Tsunade looked innocently up at Shizune. "Well now, where would be the fun in that?"

**oooo**

"I'll say it again Naruto," Sakura roughly shook him, holding him a few inches off the ground, "if you don't tell me where Kakashi-sensei is I'm going to punch you so far into the ground even Hinata won't be able to see you!"

"Okay okay!" Naruto conceded, "I'll talk, I'll talk! But say, is Hinata anywhere around-" Sakura shook him again, and the smile dropped off his face. "Okay! He went to the onsen- you know, the one on the other end of town."

"He took her to a hot spring!? I'll kill him!" Sakura threw Naruto to the ground. "I'm going to kill him and so help me, if there's anything going on between them I'm coming after you next!" She called over her shoulder as she took off for the road.

Naruto stood up, wiping off his clothes, muttering after her. Like it was his fault Kakashi had drawn the short straw! But then Ibiki had come by with some papers for Shikamaru, and that Shiho girl was with him and Ibiki had said they were going out for something to eat. So they'd all been off the hook, and as soon as they'd walked away, everybody had turned and headed for the most likely destination of their girlfriends. Kakashi had mentioned something about needing to relax, that he'd need some serious soaking in the onsen before he was ready to face Sakura.

"Naruto-kun?" A sweet, quiet voice called behind him and Naruto automatically turned toward it. Hinata was standing there, looking pretty as always, and holding out a piece of paper. "Do you want to join me...f-for some ramen? My treat." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. He took her hand, and together they walked the ever-familiar path to Ichiraku. Ramen and Hinata were the perfect way to end any day.

**oooo**

This little idea of Tsuande's was purely to torture him, he was sure of it. She'd never really forgiven him for starting a relationship with Sakura, for taking away the focus of her most prized pupil. Well, it wasn't like Sakura was completely innocent in this! She'd done her fair share of shaking his concentration, and besides, Tsunade was the one who defended the two of them more than anybody else.

"Well, that's not for your benefit, you know." Jiraiya slid into the water next to him. Though never having been his sensei, Jiraiya was connected to Kakashi through Minato, and the two of them often understood each other as though they had trained together.

"I forget, you know our Hokage better than most." Kakashi lied. It was one thing to hear rumors about a supposed secret affair going on with the Hokage and Master Jiraiya; it was quite another to walk on in two sanin (legendary ninja! After everything they'd done, everything they'd seen and survived, couldn't they remember to lock the damn door?!) going at it like there they'd never see each other again. Never would he be able to forget that, no matter how times he tired to.

"I'm just saying that even though she's allowed you to fall in love with Sakura, it doesn't mean she's super thrilled about it."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Love? Who said anything about love?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "You serious? You're over the moon about her and don't try to deny it. Oh sure, you can say it's about the sex, it's about hanging out with a girl who is funny and gets you, but is that really any different from being in love?"

Kakashi folded his arms across his chest. "I never said- "

Jiraiya shook his head. "It doesn't need saying, at least not to me. It's the way you act. The way you look at her. I'm not a fool, you know. I've been in love with Tsunade since we were kids. Like I wouldn't recognize the signs in you? In everybody else? These kunoichi have us all wrapped around their fingers."

Ah, well. Kakashi had to agree with that much. Sakura had to utter just a word, and he was at her feet, a servant to her, willing to do anything and everything she wanted him to. And Jiraiya did have a point...was enjoying the company of a beautiful woman, one who was smart, who swore like a sailor and was capable of kicking asses and taking names, any different from that dreaded four letter word? He supposed not. He kept waiting for the day when he got bored with her- of her scent, of her smiles, of her botched attempts of being domestic and presenting him with a burnt dinner. That day, in these past few years, had yet to come, and he wondered (and lately severely doubted) if it would ever.

There was a knowing smile on Jiraiya's face. "Told ya so. Not that I like to rub it in or anything."

Kakashi let out a breath. "Alright, so I love her. Just don't go spreading the word."

Jiraiya shrugged, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Don't need to."

Kakashi turned sharply, his heart beginning to hammer in his chest. Sakura was standing there, her jade eyes wide and questioning, looking as though she couldn't, wouldn't, believe what she'd just heard.

Jiraiya silently eased from the pool, wrapping a towel around his waist as he left, giving Sakura a wink.

"Sakura, I- " He began, but Sakura was upon him in a flash; her lips found his with fervor, she wrapped her legs around his waist, she clung to him, reveling in how he felt, just now, how he tasted...the warmth of the hot spring around them, the saltiness of his lips, the way he gently began discarding her clothing, until she was as bare and slick as he was. He pushed her against the side of the pool, into the rock, searching her eyes for a moment.

"You know now. Is this what you want?" Because things would be different, now, this would be taking it to the next level, and if she wasn't ready, he wouldn't make her go there.

She kissed his chest, over a knotted scar from some long-ago battle; she brushed her lips over his bicep, up his shoulder, trailed her tongue over his collar bone. As her mouth followed the line of his jaw to his ear, she whispered in his ear, the words she'd wanted to since she was fifteen, the words that had been there, on the tip of her tongue for years now, there through every good moment and even at the root of the all the bad. It'd taken them years to get here, to the point when it could all be said and felt and meant, but that was life- a constant path of change and growth and, eventually, progression.

"I love you."

And he plunged inside of her, her back arching against him as he filled her, as her centre enveloped him, formed around his arousal. Their rhythm was slow, steady, the heat of the water comforting and enveloping. It was just them, in this moment, them and the sound of heavy breaths, of soft moans, of Sakura clutching at Kakashi's back as she crested the waves of her orgasm, as his seed filled her, his teeth finding the tender skin of her throat.

Then there was his smile- not deformed or amphibious, as she'd once imagined, but defined, genuine, and beautiful. His smile, just for her.

"You'll never be able to get rid of me now." He murmured into her wet hair, feeling her dimples against his chest.

"As if I'd want to." She replied.

"I guess it does say something if you were wiling to kill Shiho..."

Sakura punched him lightly. "As if! I was merely...well, Naruto said you drew the short straw and I..."

"Yes?" Kakashi said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Oh get over yourself!" Sakura shoved him back into the water with a splash. She pulled herself from the pool and reached for a towel from a stack near her. "I didn't want her to experience anything that I get to."

"That so?" Kakashi, sopping wet, leaned on his elbows, looking up at her.

"It is." She sat down in front him, her legs dangling over the stone edge of the pool. "I don't share, Kakashi."

Kakashi pulled the towel away, tossing it out of reach, drawing Sakura back to him, one arm around the small of her back, the other against her knee, pushing her legs open. "You'll never have to, Sakura." He started at her thigh, kissing her flushed skin slowly, his lips lingering with each kiss, with each movement closer to those pink curls.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, her voice breathy, her eyes darkening with each inch closer Kakashi moved to exactly where she wanted him to be.

"Making sure this moment is something you never forget." He said, their eyes meeting for an instant before he brought those lips- those _fuckingperfectjesuschrist_ lips- to Sakura's slick folds.

**oooo**

"So it doesn't creep you out that all of your kunoichi are getting laid right now?" Jiraiya passed the pipe to Tsunade, who took a long puff, savoring the sweet tobacco.

"I try not to think about it. The less I know about my ninja's personal lives, the better. Besides, the only kunoichi I care about getting laid is myself."

"That so?"

Tsunade licked her lips, leaning forward, her breasts pressed against her forearms. "Could be. Any idea how a girl could get a little around here?"

**oooo**

Afterward, Shizune would ask about the desk- why exactly was it in pieces? And Tsunade would make vague allusions as to how it happened, a freak wind storm or maybe an accident "can't always control my strength, you know"- all lies, and Shizune, upon reading Master Jiraiya's latest _Icha Icha _volume, would get every little detail on just how the Hokage's desk had wound up as nothing more the sawdust and splinters, and promptly would chuck the volume out the window, into the street.

Sakura too would toss out the book, but not because of the scenes which were very obviously inspired by her shishou, but because of a few choice encounters that happened between the main character and younger, hospital employee at the local onsen. The book would fly through Jiraiya's screen door, shattering the glass one behind it. This would be nothing compared to the jaw broken in two places and the concussion Jiraiya would receive, but Kakashi, as he brought his favorite grumbling author (on the sly, of course. Sakura might well break HIS jaw if she found out he was visiting "that disgusting old man"), lamented that the life of a ninja is never fair.

**Lyric from A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. A perfect KakaSaku song in my opinion.**


End file.
